KUALA LUMPUR — The government will continually review and consider boosting allocations to the Ministry of Education (MOE), particularly to support digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said budget allocations will reflect the evolving needs of Malaysia’s education sector.
“In my meeting with the Ministry of Finance earlier this week, we also discussed education, as we are now placing emphasis on digitalisation, AI, computing, STEM and so on.
“We have decided to review all requirements so that, in this year’s budget, we can further increase expenditure and approvals for the MOE,” he said during the national-level Teachers’ Day celebration in Ipoh today.
Also attending the event were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
Anwar highlighted the Madani Government’s initiatives for teachers’ welfare, noting ongoing efforts to maintain and upgrade teachers’ facilities.
“Teachers’ rooms have been upgraded and maintained to accommodate the growing number of teachers. We have carried out maintenance on 7,000 teachers’ rooms,” he said.
He added that the government has approved the recruitment of an additional 3,150 teachers in preparation for the policy of admitting Year One pupils aged six starting from the 2027 school session.
Anwar also noted that more than 4,000 teacher quarters have been maintained, with a total of 8,700 expected to be upgraded through further government funding.
Earlier, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced an additional RM100 million for nationwide maintenance and upgrading of teachers’ rooms, along with RM50 million for teacher quarters. – May 16, 2026